Discover Top Posts Tagged with #modeling writing

An Introduction: Why Should We Model Writing?

When I have to introduce myself and share an interesting fact, I tell people I’m a photographer. It’s a title I’m proud of, something I’ve worked hard to achieve, a skill I don’t take lightly. Photography is hard work. When I first started, I thought the magic was in the camera. But my photos sucked. Then I thought I needed a better lens. I tried reading the manual. I tried fiddling with knobs and buttons, trying new numbers and white balances and shutter speeds and never really knowing what was going on. Occasionally something miraculous would occur, and I would take a beautiful photo. I never could quite reproduce it, though. I tried really hard for what seemed like quite a long time, but I still struggled terribly to take consistently good photos. Finally, I had the opportunity to work with professionals who had a degree in photography and made their living taking pictures. When someone was there to walk me through the process of taking a photo, something clicked in my brain. The explanation combined with physically being able to have my hands on something and practice helped me learn. I watched what they did, how they responded to different situations like a change in light, a harsh contrast, a nervous subject, and I tried to emulate what they did. The more I observed and watched others model what to do, the more I learned. Even now, after having been a photographer for several years now, I am still learning. I still have to watch someone more experienced than me go through a process so I can imitate it.

I’m not sure when it was decided that writing is not something that can or should be taught by example or through modeling. We teach ballet through demonstrating precise stances and moves and then watch students reproduce the motions. In science class, students learn how to swab a petri dish after a teacher displays the correct procedure. For some reason, when it comes to writing, we list a 5 step linear process and expect students to be able to write something good. We teach them correct grammar to use in academic writing, what a paragraph consists of, how to write sentences with variety, but rarely are connections made between any of them. Teachers assign research papers, explain in great detail what a scholarly source is and not to, under any circumstances, PLAGIARIZE (dun dun dunnn), are told what a thesis statement is and what it should do, but not how to develop one of their own. For the most part, teachers have thrust lists and charts and a few clever illustrations in the faces of students, filled their binders with definitions and vocabulary, but never went through the process of writing with students.

Just as I struggled to learn how to create good photos, students struggle to create good writing. As teachers, we can pile on reading assignments, explain over and over what a thesis statement is and where it should go in the paragraph, but it won’t do much good for the majority of students. There must be a connecting thread between what a thesis statement is and actually creating one. We can’t simply list the process in 5 concise steps because the process itself is not concise. Students need to see the processes of writing take place, how to problem solve when they encounter their writing struggles, and how to approach the many complex situations writers find themselves in. Tools do little good unless the user knows what to do with them.

Teachers have the opportunity to show students real life writing as it happens through modeling. Students can watch you, the teacher, make a way though the writing process, see you struggle to take a prompt and develop a thesis, revise an ineffective paragraph and make it something wow-worthy. Students can watch you be a writer just like them, watch you be human, see you struggle, see you scribble your pencil on the paper in frustration, and then come up with a solution. They will see you do it and know that they can do it too.

Throughout this blog, I’ll propose why I believe so strongly in the necessity of teaching writing through modeling. I’ll argue that, like almost any other behavior or skill, writing needs to be taught through models and by example. In modeling the writing process to students, we as teachers model the thought process that must take place in order to create effective writing (Holmes 4). We must be real models of the writing process, effectively use modeling as an instructional strategy, address the issues that can keep us from modeling writing, and equip our students with transferrable skills and help them to be lifelong learners. More than anything, our goal is to encourage our students and let them know they are capable and can be successful, effective writers.

#introduction #why #modeling writing #self-efficacy

What is Modeling? The Writing Runway and Other Metaphors

If you’re not exactly Heidi Klum, and you’re feeling a little uncertain about this whole modeling thing, I urge you to take a deep breath and chill. You’re not going to be doing that kind of modeling. In fact, you don’t have to worry about any kind of flawless presentation, strutting your writing stuff on that fancy Smart Board. No no. Your goal as a modeler of writing is to be as real as possible—something I’ll emphasize over and over again. There is no hiding behind a curtain of carefully planned and meticulously typed “examples,” color coded markers, and prefinished products. With some sense of decency and confidence, show your students how you write as a writer.

Kelly Gallagher writes,

“…my first period walks in, they see me in my tie, and they are often awed by how ‘smart’ I am. And why do they think I am so smart? Because all of the preparation I need for teaching […] is done ‘behind the curtain’[…] Because I do all of my preparation out of sight, I am able to successfully fool my ‘citizenry’ (my students) into believing that […] their teacher is amazing—a veritable Wizard of Ahhhs, if you will. If I really want my students to understand what it takes to become a good reader […], I should come out from behind the curtain and model all of the difficult steps I had to struggle with […]If we want our students to grow as writers, we have to come out from behind the writing curtain and model to our students what good writers do. We can’t hide, like the Great Oz, standing behind the curtain, barking our writing assignments. We can’t simply present our students with beautiful, polished drafts and ask them to replicate it. (224-5)”

That’s a substantial chunk of quote, but in it Gallagher encapsulates the essence of why and how we should model writing to our students. Kerry Holmes says modeling “demystifies the writing experience by exposing the teacher’s thoughts” (4). We, too, must demystify the process, take ourselves off the pedestal of our rolling chair or high stool, and let students know how we really write.

When I refer to modeling, I don’t mean we should offer pristine examples of our writing or others’ writing to our students—we can see pretty well that hasn’t helped students very much. For some reason, teaching the process of writing has been neglected. At some point, it was mapped out as a linear process that, if followed, would produce an acceptable result. Despite the brightly colored, laminated posters labeled THE WRITING PROCESS hanging in almost every writing classroom I’ve ever been in, I’ve never been able to mold my process to fit this 5-step plan. I don’t believe my classmates or my students—all very unique and creative thinkers—can write in such a way either.

When we model writing, we must model the process and model it honestly. Only then will our students understand the effort and the struggle that must occur to produce effective writing. Holmes also mentions, “When teachers share their passion and struggles with their students, they create a haven conducive to developing a community of writers” (4). Although it might be nice to have our students thinking we are Oz! The Great and Powerful! or the writing teacher equivalent of Tyra Banks, it’s much better for them to learn, to see that we’re human, too, that we bang our head against the desk trying to write a paper and creating a thesis statement is possibly one of the most difficult tasks imaginable.

So if you’re not Tyra Banks or the Wizard of Oz, I promise it’s okay. In fact, it’s great. You must be as human as possible when you model writing—be honest and genuine. Show an authentic writing process and let your students understand the struggles and know it’s okay if they experience those struggles, too. Come out from behind the curtain, step off the writing runway, and start modeling!

#modeling #modeling writing #self-efficacy #Kelly Gallagher #what #tyra banks

Why Modeling Works II: Multiple Learning Styles

The typical K-12 teacher is expected to be able to differentiate their instruction to suit the various learning styles of their students. Of course, it’s not always possible to teach multiple versions of the same lesson in order to tailor the instruction to each student’s specific needs. Instead, it’s more efficient and productive to create a lesson that has multiple parts that address a different learning style, or a lesson that somehow appeals to more than one learning style in some shape or form. Modeling is an effective teaching strategy because it appeals to multiple learning styles all at once. This is great for you, as the teacher, because you don’t have to spend more time creating new activities or using various strategies to meet the needs of all your students. Below, I’ve outlined the 8 multiple intelligences noted by Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory and how modeling writing appeals to some of them (Giles Pitre Womak).

Verbal/Linguistic : Writing in general is an ability students with verbal and linguistic intelligence will most likely gravitate toward. Additionally, narrating aloud what you’re doing as you model and allowing the students a chance to discuss will particularly appeal to these students and help them learn. Talk in detail about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it so verbal learners will benefit.

Visual/Spatial: Since a model is in itself a visual of how the writing process takes, students who like to see instruction happening will benefit from modeling.

Bodily/ Kinesthetic: Guided and independent practice is an essential part to the process of modeled writing. Therefore, students who learn best when they can physically be doing something will benefit from modeled writing strategies. Letting students model writing themselves on a SmartBoard or projector screen could be beneficial, as well as letting students work on handout or draft their own writing in class.

Interpersonal: Students with interpersonal intelligence benefit greatly from interaction with their teachers and peers. Since modeling is a very open sort of strategy that allows for discussion and also peer collaboration, students who learn best in interpersonal situations will benefit from modeling. Consider peer review partners, groups, and one-on-one teacher/student writing consultations.

Intrapersonal: Intrapersonal students are skilled with knowing their self. Writing, regardless of topic, requires some intrapersonal ability. Activities like journaling and self- reflection benefit students with intrapersonal intelligence. Since goal setting and reflection are major aspects of increasing self- efficacy about a task, intrapersonally gifted students will benefit from aspects of modeled writing strategies.

The other multiple intelligences are Logical/Mathematical, Naturalistic, and Musical Intelligence. While modeled writing doesn’t necessarily directly appeal to these intelligences, it’s possible for you as the teacher to incorporate some element to pique the interest of students who possess these intelligences. Additionally, you could request feedback from the class—what could you do as you model writing that would really interest and help them?

This video elaborates on multiple intelligences

#why #modeling #multiple intelligences #writing #modeling writing

Why Modeling Works III: The Proof is in the Pudding

This modeling writing thing sounds all well and good, but if there’s no proof of its effectiveness, it’s really just another nice idea to be filed with all the other strategies that won’t work for your classroom. Much research has been done not only on the effect of high self-efficacy on being able to perform any given task, but also specifically on self-efficacy and writing.

Schunk and Zimmerman, two very big names in this world of using modeling to teach writing discuss their study on using modeling to build self-efficacy and see improvement in students’ reading and writing abilities. Their studies on elementary age students proved that providing students with a writing model and reachable goals helped students to feel more positive about their writing task and they were ultimately successful. Schunk and Zimmerman note found that “modeled strategy instruction combined with goal setting raised elementary children’s writing skills and self- efficacy and helped them maintain and transfer use of the strategy beyond the instructional context” (13-14). In her article, “ Show, Don’t Tell the Importance of Explicit Prewriting Instruction,” Holmes says, “When we feed students answers instead of strategies, we only provide for one completed written paper. When we teach students strategies, they are equipped to produce many papers” (4). One of the benefits of modeling is providing students with the tools they need to succeed not only in our class for one particular assignment, but to succeed in other classes and in their professions one day as adults. Modeling helps create lifelong learners.

Prat- Sala and Redford conducted a study with undergraduate students, first providing students with a self- efficacy questionnaire about writing, and then having them perform a writing task for 20-30 minutes. The researchers discovered a notable link between students with high self-efficacy about writing and their achievement and success with the writing task Prat-Sala and Redford 10-11).

Prior to modeling a particular strategy, teachers could create a self-efficacy questionnaire (typically referred to as a confidence questionnaire in most education courses) and evaluate how capable students feel about performing certain writing tasks. After modeling a strategy and giving students the opportunity to apply it themselves, administer another confidence questionnaire to see whether or not their self-efficacy about writing has increased or changed.

Here we see not only positive results of modeling being an effective teaching strategy for writing, but also a way to assess your own students and see how modeling works in your own classroom.

Some confidence questionnaire questions you might include (these could vary and change depending on the task at hand; these suggestions are general):

Can you write an essay that contains no major spelling errors?

Can you develop a thesis that states your argument?

Can you adequately support your thesis statement?

Can you organize your ideas into paragraphs?

Can you effectively prewrite to develop a topic?

Can you edit your paper for surface errors, such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation?

Can you revise your essay for content rather than superficial errors?

Can you write an essay in which your ideas are clearly expressed?

Can you develop an original idea about a topic to write about?

Can you correctly cite your sources?

#why #modeling #proof #writing #modeling writing

Effective Instruction

“Modeling informs and motivates. Models provide information about what sequence of actions will lead to success and which actions have undesirable consequences.” –Dale H. Schunk

I could probably write a really long post (or an entire book, actually) on how to effectively model writing in instruction. But, that would be silly when the whole point of this is to show you how to model a behavior or skill as a teaching strategy. Instead, I’ll touch on some points about modeling effectively and then I will model modeling writing for you. Watch my video here.

Create a positive, safe environment.

I’ve touched on this before, but I’ll emphasize again the importance of helping students feel comfortable about writing. Promote respect, be positive, be encouraging. Schunk says that “personal and environmental factors affect one another.” Students who have a higher self- efficacy will be more likely to work diligently and create a positive classroom environment, while students with a lower self- efficacy will try to avoid doing the task and therefore create a distracting environment (160).

Have your students set goals.

Goal setting and achieving goals are important to building a student’s self-efficacy. As they reach their goals, they’ll feel more successful and capable of reaching other goals. According to Schunk, goal progress may “enhance efficacy and maintain motivation. Learners may decide to continue pursuing their goals, modify them, or set new ones” (161).

Make mistakes.

Although your students might think you’re perfect (haha!—sarcasm), it’s important for them to see you struggle and problem solve as you write at any stage in the writing process. They’ll feel okay about mistakes they make and will also be equipped with the tools to solve their own writing struggles. Schunk recommends using “coping models” so students can see how you handle struggles and difficulties. Your problem solving strategies will translate to their problem solving strategies (161).

Be explicit and specific.

When you model, make sure students know how they can apply the strategy to their own writing. Take them through each step and be ready to answer questions. Berkely and Regan emphasize the important of explicit explanation of how and why a strategy is being used (277).

Give students guided and independent practice.

As you model, let students practice the strategy. Walk them through the process, and then give them the opportunity to do it on their own.

Provide encouraging and relevant feedback.

This is important for building a student’s self-efficacy about a task. Even though you’ll likely have suggestions for improvement, let students know what they did well. Through your feedback, affirm students of their ability to be effective writers.

Click here to see my video on developing a thesis statement.

Watch this video of Kelly Gallagher (the author of Write Like This) discuss his beliefs about writing and using modeling to teach writing.

#effective instruction #how #modeling writing #Kelly Gallagher #Schunk